Hong Kong Youth Commission chairman Bunny Chan renews calls for national education

National education should be introduced to Hong Kong despite criticisms from “part of the community”, the outgoing chairman of a government-appointed youth body said on Friday.

Youth Commission chairman Bunny Chan Chung-bun said “something would be missing in children’s growing up” if the curriculum were not introduced.

“Some people have been critical of national education. But one aspect will be missing without it,” Chan told a DBC radio programme. “That aspect may affect their future development,”

Chan, who also chairs a newly established, Beijing-backed army cadets association, said young people should be given a broader outlook in their knowledge of the country.

“I think young people need different perspectives,” he said.

National education has been a controversial issue in Hong Kong, with students, parents and teachers fearing that it could be turned into a course to “indoctrinate” young people.

The government backed down on plans to introduce the course in all schools in the face of massive protests in 2012 by opponents who described it as tantamount to brainwashing.